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Act 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Caesar and Cleopatra, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Romanticization of History
Vengeance vs. Mercy
Pragmatism vs. Sentimentality
Empire, Civilization, and Progress
Age, Experience, and Power
Summary
Analysis
Ptolemy Dionysus, the temperamental 10-year-old king of Egypt, follows his guardian, Pothinus, into the loggia at the royal palace in Alexandria where his Egyptian court has assembled to greet him. Ptolemy’s tutor, Theodotus, a wise old man, and Achillas, the general of Ptolemy’s troops, are also there. Achillas is tall, handsome, and respected, though he’s rather dull. Pothinus is a 50-year-old eunuch with a lot of zest and enthusiasm, though he’s rather “common” and ill-tempered.
A loggia is a room with one or more open sides. Ptolemy is even younger than Cleopatra (Shaw’s Ptolemy is 10, as opposed to the historical Ptolemy, who was 15 during his dynastic dispute with Cleopatra), so it’s logical to assume that his guardians are manipulating him to achieve their own political goals, just as Cleopatra’s guardians and Caesar are influencing her. Certainly, the stage directions’ characterization of Pothinus as an enthusiastic, “common,” and ill-tempered man evoke somebody who’s bitter about lacking the power they think they deserve, and who therefore has reason to manipulate Ptolemy for personal and political gain.
Themes
Literary Devices
Ptolemy nervously sits on the throne. Pothinus tells the court that the Ptolemy has an announcement to make. Ptolemy begins his speech, though he sounds as though he's reciting a script, and he frequently turns to Pothinus for help remembering what to say next. Ptolemy tells the court that he is the firstborn son of Auletes the Flute Blower, who was king until Ptolemy’s sister, Berenice, removed him from the throne. She took control of his kingdom until the gods sent a Roman captain named Mark Antony to restore Auletes’s power and behead Berenice. After Auletes’s death, his other daughter, Cleopatra, took control of the kingdom. What’s more, Cleopatra and her witch, Ftatateeta, have cast a spell on Julius Caesar to ensure that he upholds Cleopatra’s illegitimate rule in Egypt. Suddenly awash with “political passion,” Pothinus vows not to let a foreigner unseat the king from his rightful throne.
Ptolemy’s nervous posture on the throne suggests that he, like Cleopatra, is inexperienced and ill-equipped to be an effective leader. That Pothinus must consistently help Ptolemy remember bits of a speech, which his wavering cadence suggests he didn’t even write in the first place, serves as further evidence of his incompetence and inexperience. That Pothinus deems Ftatateeta a witch speaks to the way society treats women. Ftatateeta’s support for Cleopatra to rule Egypt is motivated by the same things that motivate Pothinus—a desire to achieve personal and political ends through her connection to one of the royal heirs to the throne. Yet, he construes her as an unhinged, power-hungry witch rather than a politically pragmatic person like himself.
Themes
Just then, a burly, middle-aged Roman officer named Rufio appears in the loggia and announces Caesar’s arrival. Caesar enters. He wears a wreath on his head to hide his baldness. His secretary, Brittanus, walks beside him. Like Caesar, Brittanus is middle-aged and balding. Caesar approaches Ptolemy, pats him on the shoulder, and sympathetically remarks how boring kinghood must be for a boy Ptolemy’s age. Theodotus introduces Caesar to the other members of Ptolemy’s court. Caesar comments on the lack of chairs in the court. Ptolemy gets up to offer Caesar his throne, but Caesar kindly declines. Rufio spots a tripod with incense burning on it in front of an image of Ra. He picks it up and brings it to Caesar sit on. Other members of the court gasp at Rufio’s “Roman resourcefulness and indifference to foreign superstitions.”
Themes
Caesar sits down, prompting more gasps from the Egyptians. He explains to Pothinus that he’s come to retrieve the 1,600 talents (money) that the Egyptians owe him. Caesar’s request stuns Pothinus, who reluctantly admits that the King’s treasury doesn’t have that much money since Cleopatra unlawfully took control of the throne. He also grumbles about Caesar being petty enough to demand their taxes. Caesar reminds Pothinus that “taxes are the chief business of a conqueror of the world” before ordering the court to fetch Cleopatra. The court is under the impression that Cleopatra has run away to Syria and are shocked when she appears in the doorway, hiding behind Ftatateeta.
Themes
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Caesar tells Cleopatra to act like a queen. She drags Ptolemy from the throne, sits down in his place, and mocks him when he cries. Caesar feel sympathy for Ptolemy and holds his hand, which enrages Cleopatra. She stands up and tells Ptolemy he can have his stupid throne back, if he wants it so badly. When Caesar tries to scare Cleopatra into submission, she tells him that she’s not afraid of him anymore and that he ought to eat her husband, instead. The Romans are shocked to learn that Cleopatra is referring to Ptolemy, her brother. Theodotus explains that Egyptian royals may only marry other royals.
Caesar suggests that Ptolemy and Cleopatra rule Egypt together. However, Pothinus isn’t happy with this arrangement. If the taxes that the Egyptians owe the Romans are the price they must pay for their freedom, Pothinus argues, then Caesar simply should take the money and leave them alone. The Egyptian courtiers applaud and shout “Egypt for the Egyptians!” Tension builds in the loggia. Achillas, the Roman general whom Aulus Gabinus left to command the Egyptian army, announces that he will side with the Egyptians, who outnumber the Romans. Achillas’s betrayal angers Rufio, but it amuses Caesar.
Themes
Literary Devices
Caesar sends for his army. They enter the loggia, revealing that that the Romans greatly outnumber the Egyptians. Britannus declares that the Egyptians are all Caesar’s prisoners now, but Caesar disagrees. He argues that the Egyptians are his “guests,” not his prisoners. Caesar’s merciful treatment of the Egyptians disappoints Cleopatra, and she asks him if he will chop off the Egyptians’ heads. Caesar is shocked that Cleopatra would order him to behead her own brother, but Ptolemy stubbornly admits that he'd behead his sister if he had the chance, too. Cleopatra fights the instinct to undermine her new, queenly status by sticking out her tongue at Ptolemy.
Themes
Caesar tells Pothinus that any Egyptian who wants to leave is free to go. Rufio fumes at Caesar’s clemency. Determined to show Caesar that he is still indebted to Ptolemy, Pothinus summons forth Lucius Septimius, a clean-shaven, fit man dressed in a Roman officer’s uniform. Lucius informs Caesar that he beheaded Pompey—Caesar’s rival—upon Pompey’s arrival on Egyptian soil. Theodotus chimes in, eagerly adding that Pompey’s wife and child witnessed the beheading. Theodotus tells Caesar that Pompey’s death enables Caesar to “keep [his] reputation for clemency, and have [his] vengeance too.” Caesar calls Lucius a murderer and laments how Lucius’s actions have forced vengeance upon him. He and Pompey might have been rivals, Caesar argues, but not by their choosing.
Lucius scoffs at Caesar’s grief, arguing that Caesar was okay with exacting vengeance on Vercingetorix’s defeated men, whom he defeated in Gaul. Caesar argues that these casualties were “a necessary protection to the commonwealth, a duty of statesmanship—follies and fictions ten times bloodier than honest vengeance.” Furthermore, he now sees that he was a fool to allow Vercingetorix’s men to perish for Rome. Caesar argues that it’s not right to use these deaths to justify Pompey’s slaying, either. Caesar tells Lucius that he, like the Egyptians, is free to go. Angry that Caesar has let Lucius off the hook for Pompey’s murder, Rufio angrily accuses Lucius of being a Republican.
Themes
Caesar puts his hand on Rufio’s shoulder and leads him out of the loggia to cool down. After Lucius exits, Caesar, Rufio, and Britannus form a circle to strategize. Rufio suspects that Lucius would behead them, too, if he had the chance. Caesar cautions Rufio against making assumptions about Lucius and reminds him that they must not fight Lucius’s vengeance with vengeance of their own. Britannus disagrees, but Rufio tells him that Caesar’s mind is made up and there’s no sense in arguing with him.
Themes
Caesar turns around and realizes that Ptolemy is still in the hall. Rufio grabs Ptolemy’s hand to lead him away. Ptolemy asks Caesar if he’s kicking him out of his palace. Caesar addresses the boy kindly and promises not to hurt him. However, he advises Ptolemy that it will be safer for him to be with his own people rather than here, where he is “in the lion’s mouth.” Ptolemy motions to Rufio as he informs Caesar that he’s afraid of “the jackal,” not the lion. Caesar applauds Ptolemy’s bravery, which makes Cleopatra jealous. She asks Caesar if he’d like her to leave with the others. Caesar tells Cleopatra that he’d prefer that she stay. Cleopatra feigns indifference and remains in the loggia.
Themes
Literary Devices
Caesar calls for Ftatateeta. When she appears at the door, Caesar informs her that Cleopatra will hold court here in Alexandria and tasks her with assembling female servants to wait on the queen. Cleopatra tells Ftatateeta that she will have her thrown into the river Nile if she doesn’t follow Caesar’s orders. Cleopatra’s brutality shocks Caesar. This prompts Cleopatra to accuse Caesar of being “very sentimental.” Though, she suggests, if Caesar listens to her, he eventually “will soon learn to govern.” Cleopatra’s unearned confidence stuns Caesar. Ftatateeta flashes him an I-told-you-so grin before leaving to fetch the other servants. Once everyone else has left, Caesar warns Cleopatra that she knows less than she thinks she does.
Themes
Caesar tells Cleopatra that he has work to do and must leave. Cleopatra reminds Caesar that she’s made him a king, and that kings don’t work, which is something she learned from her late father. Cleopatra describes her father as a great ruler who beheaded her sister after she tried to steal the throne from him. He only regained control of the kingdom after a brave, handsome young man—much younger than Caesar, Cleopatra observes—traveled across the desert and slayed Cleopatra’s sister’s husband. Caesar informs Cleopatra that it was he who sent the man, a captain named Mark Antony. Cleopatra eagerly asks Caesar if he thinks Antony might like to be her husband. Caesar says yes, though he’s visibly bothered by Cleopatra’s interest in Antony’s youth. He also warns Cleopatra that many women love Antony. Unmoved, Cleopatra vows to woo Antony and make him kill all the other women.
Caesar informs Cleopatra that her father never paid Caesar the 16,000 talents he owed him for restoring his lost crown. Because Caesar will likely never receive the unpaid debt, he reminds Cleopatra, it’s important that he returns to his work. Cleopatra pleads with Caesar to tell her more about Mark Antony, but Caesar warns her that Pothinus will cut off harbor access if Caesar doesn’t get started on his work. And if nobody can access the harbor, then Mark Antony can’t come to Egypt, either. Hearing this inspires Cleopatra to have a change of heart, and she insists that Caesar start working immediately.
Themes
Just as Caesar is about to leave to find Brittanus, a wounded Roman soldier enters the loggia and announces that Achillas’s Roman army has arrived in the city, and the citizens are fighting back. Rufio and Britannus, who have been watching the battle from the balcony, enter the loggia. Caesar relays the soldier’s news. Rufio stares incredulously as Caesar orders him to burn all the Roman ships and leave most of Egypt for the Egyptians, but he reluctantly leaves to deliver Caesar’s message. He returns a while later and tells Caesar that the Egyptians have taken the west harbor and lit five ships on fire. Caesar asks if they’ve gotten to the east harbor or the lighthouse yet. Rufio is annoyed and tells Caesar he ought to do the work himself if he wants it done faster. Caesar gently asks for Rufio’s forgiveness.
Themes
Just then, Theodotus runs in, visibly shaken. He informs Caesar that the library of Alexandria is on fire, but the news doesn’t faze Caesar or Rufio. Theodotus accuses Caesar of being a brutish soldier who doesn’t appreciate “the value of books” and recorded history. Caesar argues that Egyptians’ lives are worth more than any book. Furthermore, the world ought to “build the future with [the past’s] ruins.” He calls out the hypocrisy of Theodotus having such high regard for a few books while gleefully celebrating Pompey’s beheading.
Theodotus leaves to try to save the library of Alexandria, and Caesar orders Pothinus to tell the Egyptians not to kill any more Roman soldiers. Rufio returns and berates Caesar for letting more Egyptians go. Caesar laughs at Rufio’s outrage and reminds him that every Egyptian soldier that they capture requires them to imprison two Roman soldiers to stand guard. Rufio scowls, unhappy about Caesar outwitting him yet again.
Themes
Cleopatra runs into the loggia, Caesar’s helmet and sword in hand. Britannus trails after her. Cleopatra dresses Caesar for battle. When she removes his wreath, she sees his bald spot and bursts into laughter. When she places the Roman helmet on Caesar’s head, she jokingly remarks that he “look[s] only about 50 in it!” Her remarks visibly irritate and embarrass Caesar.
Themes
Caesar and his men prepare to head to battle. He asks Cleopatra if she’s scared. She says no, but not convincingly. Caesar orders her to go to the battle and watch him take Pharos island: if she is to be Queen, it’s important for her to watch battles. Before Caesar, Rufio, and Britannus can leave, Cleopatra tells them that they won’t be able to leave Egypt, since the Egyptian army, headed by Theodotus, is emptying the harbor with buckets to extinguish the fire at the library of Alexandria. Rufio scolds Caesar, insisting that it was his clemency that allowed this setback to happen. As usual, however, Caesar is one step ahead of the game. He tells Rufio that he wanted to distract the Egyptians with the fire to buy his army time to seize the lighthouse. Rufio scowls at Caesar’s cleverness. Cleopatra waves as Caesar and his men depart.
Themes
